*RE-POST* –> HAPPY 30th TO MY CLIENT, M.B.! xxo

So this seems to be the year that many of my hip, hot, and happenin’ amigas are turning 30. Some are excited and are embracing the new decade with wide open arms, and others… well others want to bid adieu to their 20’s like they want a hole in the head. So I set out to figure out what it is about turning 30 that has them freaking out (besides the obvious reasons like loose hanging skin that — I swear — appeared overnight, new wrinkles around the eyes that never used to be there when I smiled, and an alcohol tolerance that went from 10 to 2 in seemingly a matter of months) and these are some of the common thoughts I kept hearing:

• “Life has not progressed how I planned.”
• “I always thought that I’d be married/have 2.5 kids/own a house/make partner/fill-in-the-blank by the time I turned 30. I don’t have that stuff, so I’m behind/I’ve failed/I suck/etc.”
• “Everyone else has it together by 30.”
• “30 is old.”
• “Well now I’m 30, so I have to get serious and buckle down.” (translation: stop having fun and turn boring)
• “Now it’s too late to ______ (pursue my dream or passion).”
• “I haven’t achieved as much as everyone else my age.”
• “I thought I’d be more advanced in my career by now.”
• “I thought I’d be financially stable by now.”
• “I thought Prince or Princess Charming would have arrived by now.”

Ugh enough. You get the point.

These are the very thoughts that are making my amigas miserable. They are anxious. They are sad. They feel like failures.

So here’s the deal. We draft carefully composed plans. Things are supposed to fall into place on OUR timeline. When WE say. When WE think is the “right” time.

But that’s not how it works. Things fall into place when we least expect. When we are having too much fun loving ourselves to even notice. When we are LIVING.

For your birthday, I’m giving you peace.

Peace can be found in the simple fact that we are exactly where we need to be at this moment.

Your life has unfolded perfectly and will continue to do so. Perfectly for you. Every person fulfills their purpose when the time is right. What is in store for you is even better than what you’ve imagined. This, I know to be true.

What you deem a postponement of progress may actually represent an auspicious opportunity to prepare for what is yet to come. The delays that dissapoint you may be laying the foundation for a future that you have not yet conceived. Move with the flow of your life rather than pushing against it. Don’t judge yourself, be kind and gentle. Don’t judge your successes and failures, relish in them. Don’t measure how far you’ve come, look at how far you are going.

Live.

So welcome to your 30’s. Put your party dress on.

Because 30 is the new whatever-the-hell you want it to be.

This is a record of your time.

This is your movie.

Love. And love well.

Thank your soldier. Your days are your own thanks to our troops. Awe. Gratitude. Inspiration.

Sit for hours at sidewalk cafes and drink with your heroes.

Look up and down.

Whisper questions aloud.

Believe in the unknown for it is there.

Live in many places.

Live with flowers and music and books and painting and sculpture.

Keep a record of your time.

Learn to read well.

Learn to listen and speak well.

Know your country, know your world, know your history, know yourself.

Take care of yourself physically and mentally.

You owe it to yourself.

Be good to those around you.

And do all things with passion.

Give all that you can.

Life is short.

Take yourself by surprise.

Be unlike you now and then.

Escape the treadmill of predictability.

Wear colored socks.

Take the scenic route to work.

Re-tune your radio to country music for awhile.

Feed the birds at lunch.

Call your mother.

Plant a flaming yellow rhododendron.

Buy a fruit you’ve never heard of before.

Write a love letter.

Turn off the tv.

Do something brilliant every day.

Tell the truth.

Be kind, not defensive.

Strike out in some new directions.

Salsa dance.

Open your mind.

Make a spectacular presentation.

Obliterate your sales goal.

Dream a wonderful dream.

Prepare an astounding meal.

Make homemade ice cream.

Tell an outrageous joke.

Savor life.

Have adventures.

We only pass this way once.

A beautiful memoir recounting an often tumultuous relationship with food (as – in my opinion- a microcosm of her relationship with her Self), Dayna Macy in Ravenous strives chapter-by-chapter to redefine her rocky relationship in a healthier way while concurrently discovering what makes her tick the way she does.

I enjoyed the memoir sections of this book very much, and I think Ms. Macy has a delightful way of using a particular food each chapter (for the first part of the book) to captivate the reader (and make our mouths water!)

While Ms. Macy takes us on a journey of love of self and hope, for those who can not relate to a dysfunctional relationship with food, I am not sure this is the read for you. Also, I could not quite determine the genre of this book – whether it was self-help, a memoir, book for foodies, or – most likely – a combination of all of the above. It felt more like a collection of short stories, but great short stories nonetheless. My favorite part of this book was the peace of mind and new focus on life Ms. Macy achieves through each chapter.

At its core, this book is a delightful lesson in mindful eating; and therefore in mindful living.

Thinking about why we do the things we do.

Eat the things we eat.

Say the things we say.

Feel the emotions we feel.

Stopping to think about the “whys.”

That is what this book did for me.

And we could all afford to practice a little bit more of that.

Thanks again to my friends at Hay House for a unique addition to my Hay House collection!

Cut orange lengthwise into six segments.
Breath in the aroma that’s released.
Eat each segment slowly, savoring the orange’s flavor, taste, and
Let it fill your mouth, and your heart, with joy.

-Dayna Macy, Ravenous, Page 203

Pick up a copy of Ravenous, here:

Hay House
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

As an angel therapy virgin, checking out this free book from my friends at Hay House seemed like it had the potential to be a lot of fun. So with a wildly open mind, I started reading.

The Angel Therapy Handbook by Doreen Virtue is definitely written for those who have little experience in the world of angels, clairvoyance, claircognizance, etc… A quick and easy read, the greatest “gold” I’ve taken from this book is that it has caused me to take pause throughout the day and connect (or reconnect) with my angels, guides, and God and remember to “Let Go, Let God.” In other words, to give my load over to my spiritual guides and rest easy knowing that it is not all my burden alone, to carry. Ms. Virtue makes this easy, offering plenty of affirmations, meditations, and exercises.

Also, in reading this book, it became clear to me that there is still so much I don’t understand about my own natural intuitive abilities. I am eager to read more of Ms. Virtue’s work… (and she has a LOT!)

My favorite part of the book, by far, was Part III in which Ms. Virtue inspires the reader to discover her own life purpose and outlines action steps in order to achieve this purpose. Inspiring, compassionate, and sensitive, Part III is definitely written for those of us who believe that we are here on earth to guide others, to heal, and to love.

Thank you, my dear friends at Hay House, for opening up my world just a little bit more, and introducing me to the work of Doreen Virtue!

The Angel Therapy Handbook can be found, here:
Hay House
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Chapters Indigo (Canada)

“ I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.”

I love…

My Mom. A shining example of love, forgiveness, and possibility. And humor, grace, and beauty. Stability. My rock. That is my mama. I have heard it said that we choose our parents in order to learn the lessons we need most to learn. Should that be true, I must have needed to learn how to be effortlessly elegant, generous beyond words, witty as hell, fiesty, smart, and strong. Class is a woman who turns every head in the room with her smile, poise, and natural charm and doesn’t even seem to notice. That, is my mama.

My brother. My hero. My partner in crime. He protects me, and he protects this country. He is makes me laugh like no one can. He is steady and sturdy. He is witty and he is smart. Smarter than he knows or will ever give himself credit for. A laundry list of amazing accomplishments – marathons, degrees, fighting for our freedom – and we loved him every bit as much before all of that as we do now. And always will. Because he is our guy. Our one and only. Had God not chosen him for me, I would have somehow found him and chosen him myself.

My best friend Margaret. Margaret was INSPIRATION and LOVE personified. And continues to shape the woman I aspire to become. Understated, calm and wise. The biggest heart to ever exist. My angel.

My Sadie-cakes. The crooked smile I wake up to and the snoring I fall asleep to. A lesson in resilience, innocence, and living in the present moment. Unconventional beauty. And all the more beautiful because of it.

PMB. Lovable, forgiving, confused and complex. Not afraid to wear red pants. Brilliant. Far beyond us all in the ways of the mind. And yet vulnerable and deserving of the kind of nurturing that softens the heart and lifts the load. Vulnerability that blinds with beauty and innocence, but seen by few if at all.

The trees. The woods. The quiet.

The sunset. The water. The wind.

God.

As we rung in the New Year and awoke on New Year’s Day a bit foggy headed (too much red wine), I wager to bet that the first thought in most of our minds (after “pass me the tylenol”) was [some version of], “Crap… my diet starts today.”

And then we quickly remember last year (and the year(s) before that) and how we had the same resolution then.

And then we look down at our tummy’s and our thighs and notice how well that worked out.

This is a story I’ve heard (and experienced) year after year after year.

So when my friends at Hay House sent me a free copy of Marianne Williamson’s “A Course In Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever,” I was thrilled. I had been eager to check it out ever since my beloved Ms. Winfrey gave it away on her final “Ultimate Favorite Things” episode earlier in the month. Thrilled to see what – if any – new insights the book offered on a topic that has been talked and talked and talked to death.

So what is new and different about this book?

It is a book about weight loss that has nothing to do with counting calories or pitching a new and improved exercise program.

The approach Marianne Williamson takes on weight loss – which I very much agree with – is that our bodies are a reflection of what is going on inside; our spirituality.

Food as spirituality.

I like it.

Marianne’s book is a spiritual curriculum, comprised of 21 lessons. She operates under the premise that shedding emotional weight will in turn help you shed your physical weight; the more emotional baggage we mount onto our hearts, our physical bodies feel the need to literally grow just to be able to support that baggage.

Makes. Perfect. Sense.

As someone who is not [currently] struggling with weight issues, I was not sure how well I’d relate to this book. Let me tell you – if you are anyone who is carrying ANYTHING extra around – anger, resentment, bitterness, sadness – or has turned to any coping mechanism or unhealthy behavior as a means of dealing with that emotion – excessive drinking, smoking, sex, road rage (helllooooo sarah klein)- this book will become your Bible.

Literally.

Marianne teaches what my faith (and Bible) has taught me all along (but never applied to weight loss): Turn to the divine when you cannot solve a problem on your own. Give it up. Let it go and give it to God.

Again, Marianne’s focus is not on what to eat and how many miles to run. Rather, it is about how to cultivate an emotional and spiritual life that does not rely on food to fill the emptiness, loneliness, or subdue the pain.

This book may not be for the spiritually faint of heart, but to those of us with faith in a greater power and faith in our own potential, Ms. Williamson is speaking your language.

Thank you, my Hay House friends, for another great read!

You can find this book, here:
Hay House
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Chapters Indigo (Canada)